Police lost 3.8kg marijuana [1]
Friday, August 4, 2017 - 15:16
Nausaimone Kitekei’aho (50s) who was convicted of possession of the illicit drug cannabis which weighed 3,800 grams and bribery of a Tongan Police officer, will be sentenced on 31 August at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court. This was a case where the exhibits were lost by police.The court was told that although it was said that photographs had been taken of the cannabis, neither photographs nor drugs had been produced in evidence.
The prosecutor told the court the exhibits had been lost during the refurbishment of the police station, when they were removed to the Longolongo Police Station.
Large amount
On 27 July, Hon Mr Justice Cato in his verdict said he was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the Crown had proven the essential elements of the offending involving the accused being in possession of cannabis, the weight of which in the indictment he accepted was 3,800 grams or 134 ounces, which is a large amount of cannabis in Tonga.
He said the counsel for the accused had complained to the court that, although the evidence indicated that photographs had been taken of the cannabis including being in situ and the cannabis had been seized and weighed, neither photographs nor drugs had been produced in evidence. The judge said nothing, however, was made of this during the evidence.
Had it been, the Crown could have adduced evidence to formally explain why they could not be produced. The prosecutor explained why this was so in answer to a question posed by the court as to whether photographs said to have been taken of the marijuana were going to be produced, namely that the evidence had been lost during the refurbishment of the police station, he said.
The counsel for defence did not suggest he was dissatisfied with this explanation or required further proof during the trial.
"In the absence of this being raised as an issue, I see no reason now why this should preclude me from convicting the accused of possession of the illicit drug."
He was satisfied beyond any reasonable doubt that the material was taken into custody weighed and sampled and identified by expert evidence as cannabis or marijuana, an illicit drug.
"I am satisfied that at all material times beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused had custody and control of the drug, that is possession of it, and that he identified it as cannabis and as his after it had been taken back to the police station and was present when he was being lntervlewed."
Search
The search warrant obtained by the police was executed at two houses located close to each other at a property in Popua on November 25, 2014 with Sateki Tu’utafaiva, the Officer-in-charge.
The drugs were found in the second house. Tu’utafaiva told the court that the accused had offered him $2,000 so as not to conduct the search.
Tu'utafaiva said that the door to a room in this house was open and there was a black plastic bag under the bed. The accused had told him that there was marijuana under the bed. He was then told that he would be charged with possession of illicit drugs.
He then told two other officers to bring out the bag and it was photographed. Tu'utafaiva said that three officers Fihaki, Vi and Fahina were in the room when the drug was located. He said that the bag was opened and he saw the material in it was cannabis.
He said that he had been in many operations involving marijuana, and the plastic bag had been taken to the police station as an exhibit.
The drugs, which occupied about half an onion sack, had been lost.
The prosecutor told the court that this took place during the refurbishment of the police station when exhibits were removed to the Longolongo Police Station.
The accused remains in custody to be sentenced.